Naruto: Crippled Strings
by Slade-94
Summary: Naruto was born healthy and was crippled during the Kyuubi attack. The Hokage gave him one good shot to become a ninja, and Naruto takes the chance and runs with it. My take on Puppet Master Naruto. includes Sandaime bashing, and lots and lots of death. Definitely evil Naruto.


**Disclaimer: I Own Nothing**

**Three Days After The Kyuubi Attack**

The third Hokage sighed as he rubbed his temples, sitting at his desk in his office, taking small drags from his pipe, wishing that there was something else, ANYTHING else, that could keep him distracted from the problems that his village was left with after the Kyuubi had been released.

There was over 40 percent of damage done to the interior of the village, as it had simply appeared within the walls. Its sudden appearance was the reason why they had lost 80 percent of their Jonin, nearly 90 percent of their Anbu and around 60 percent of their Chunnin. Luckily they were able to send the majority of their Genin to the safe house behind the Hokage's monument, and they saved a majority of the civilians not immediately killed by the appearance of the Kyuubi. 95 percent of his civilians survived but the village shinobi force was incredibly weakened. And his only trump card, his Jinchuuriki, was a cripple.

His pipe snapped as he suddenly stood, swiping his arm across the desk in a rage. Don't get him wrong, Naruto was a gem, the child of his successor, a boy with the potential to bring the shinobi world to his knees. He would have left the boy to his own devices, to grow up alone and sheltered, his life would have been hard, but it would have been a childhood. The threat of having a jinchuuriki in the village would have deterred nearly all the attacks they would have faced. It would not have mattered what age he was because who would believe that the child would have been in plain view, with no training? But now...

The Sandaime glanced out of the corner of his eyes at the child in the crib. His rage, simmering at that point spiked again at the reminder of what his successor had left him. It wasn't his fault of course. It was the Kyuubi's revenge. But he single handedly ruined the boys chances of being any type of asset to his village.

When the Kyuubi had been sealed inside of Naruto, he lashed out, not at the Fourth and his wife as expected, but at his container, no doubt believing that he would be released faster if his container died quickly. He crushed Naruto's chakra coils, and ate away at his bones, making them brittle and weak, and based on what the medic nins have said, the bones in his legs would be unable to support him, so he will never walk without a cane. Ever.

The Chakra coils he could have made work. Even though they are crushed, chakra flows through them, albeit at a slower, more controlled rate. This means that Naruto would have had perfect chakra control, perhaps he would have been unable to use anything over A-rank at best, and definitely not anything over C-rank without pain, but his control would have meant that with his reserves he would have a limitless supply of chakra. The ability to use a B-ranked technique over 1,000 in a day was beyond him, but Naruto could have done that and then some, easily.

But his bones were brittle.

The Hokage had to resist the urge to toss his desk across the room in a rage. He could never be a ninja. How could he? There was no way a cripple would be able to get through the academy, let alone the high speed battles that ninja were sometimes required to fight. He would die easily. He was nothing but a burden. But the Fourth Hokage asked him to help his son be viewed as a hero. He was sure he never imagined that the boy would be crippled by the kyuubi.

He sighed, before calling upon his Anbu.

Three figures appeared in front of him, two men and a woman, each of them in a cloak. His Anbu captain, in the white cloak, stepped forward, his dog mask covering his features except for his bright silver spiky hair.

"Yes, Lord Hokage?"

The Hokage visibly calmed himself before speaking to the captain. " Take Naruto to the compound. No one will know of his burden. He will begin training as soon as he is able. I want results Dog. If by the age of five, Naruto has made no significant progress..." Here the Hokage stared at the picture of the Fourth, pausing for a few moments. He then glanced at the crib and his gaze hardened.

"He is to be eliminated, and the Kyuubi resealed in a suitable host."

-0-

What the Hokage never realized was that though the Kyuubi had devastated the boys physical capabilities, his mental prowess was enhanced to a level never before seen. Many medical ninja had done research into the subject of the mind. It is a powerful tool, but easily harmed, or broken if pushed too far. Their research had revealed that those with smaller chakra coils and smaller reserves had better chakra control as well as higher intelligence, and on average higher IQ, than those with larger chakra coils, and larger chakra reserves. The Hokage was not an exception to this. Through age, he gained wisdom, and he was a quick study, but there was a reason that Shikaku Nara was his main Strategist, and also why he had three advisors. He was the strongest ninja in the village, but he had never been the brightest. Known as the professor for his mastery of over 1000 ninjutsu, not for his strategic capabilities.

The reason why this information would have been crucial to the Hokage, however, is that Naruto's coils were crushed, during his developmental stages. Why was this important? Because of the impact that chakra coils has on the brains development. As a young child, the brain grows, and develops based on the size of your chakra coils. Your ability to process information, your ability to retain information, the ability to follow several thoughts at once, are all based on the development of the brain, which is affected by the size of your chakra coils. The coils wrapped around the brain are like a natural limiter.

The human body naturally limits itself, in order to not destroy itself with its own potential. The human body on average is limited to around ten percent of its full capabilities. The Third Hokage was able to access roughly fifteen percent. The Fourth was able to access almost seventeen percent. The Second, as well as Madara Uchiha, one of the villages greatest enemies were able to access nineteen and twenty one percent respectively. The First Hokage was able to access twenty six percent of the full capabilities of his body.

Now, Naruto's coils would have limited himself to about thirteen percent of his bodies capabilities naturally, allowing for his longevity as well as a slightly faster ability to heal himself. With the Kyuubi's boost, he would have accessed sixteen percent and this would have increased his healing factor tenfold, but caused him extreme pain, as his body would have been unable to handle the strain.

However, the Kyuubi changed all of that.

By crushing the coils in his body, the Kyuubi attempted to limit the boys potential to five percent at best. After all, without chakra flowing through the coils of the human body, the brains development stops. Chakra promotes growth and by crushing the coils he attempted to stop Naruto's growth before it began. But he underestimated the healing powers of his chakra. The coils did not stay crushed, and rather simply became smaller, focusing his chakra, and increasing his control. However, that's not all he did.

He released Naruto's potential.

The Chakra coils in the brain limit the brains growth, and the potential you have access too, in order to balance your strength, so the body does not tear itself apart. When the coils were crushed, Naruto's brain responded by unlocking more of his potential in order to keep the body from failing, from falling into a coma until he died from lack of nutrients. The body was able to process information at a level unseen before, able to focus on several tasks at once with ease, and his memory became perfect. His ability to comprehend the world around him skyrocketed. In his attempt to destroy Naruto, the Kyuubi had created a human with more potential than anyone had ever had before him or will ever have after.

Naruto had access to nearly 57 percent of his bodies potential. With the Kyuubi's chakra, Naruto could unlock 70 percent of his bodies potential. The Six Paths Sage had access to 68 percent in his prime.

However, to reach his full potential Naruto would have to work hard. His bones were indeed brittle, and could not support him. He had access to nearly unlimited chakra but could only channel a limited amount of it. Naruto heard the Hokage, and even in his young mind was able to understand his words. He knew that as he was now, he was weak. But he would train, and one day he would kill the man that dared to order his death.

-0-

The dog masked Anbu and his two companions landed without a sound inside the Sarutobi compound. They moved quickly, bringing the baby to a secret room, designed to be a safe place in the case of an invasion. There was only one way in, and it was fortified with barrier seals as well as genjutsu. The only way to gain access in or out was to be a Sarutobi or to have been given access by one. The Hokage's personal Anbu had all been given that privilege. The secret room was small, with ten beds, a years worth of canned food, a bathroom and a wide area in the middle of the room, designed for a last stand should they be discovered.

Dog placed the child on a bed before covering him in a blanket. He turned to the two with him. "Cat, Weasel, we need to figure out what we are going to train him in, the Hokage wants results and we are going to give him some."

Cat turned away from him and though her face could not be seen, she appeared to be in deep thought. "Permission to speak freely captain?"

Dog removed his mask, revealing the face of Kakashi Hatake, one of the Elite Jonin in the village, and the Anbu captain. "Permission granted Yugao."

Cat removed her mask revealing the face of Yugao Uzuki, another Jonin in the village and one of the Hokages personal guards. "The boy would be at a disadvantage no matter what Kakashi. Perhaps it would be a mercy to kill him now. Taijutsu is beyond him, you can forget about Kenjutsu, his wrists would snap picking up a weapon!"

Weasel took off his mask, revealing the face of Genma Shiranui, a Special Jonin level ninja and a second member of the Hokage's guard, and he began speaking. "Hey, cut the kid some slack Yugao, He could still use some Ninjutsu, and what about Genjutsu?"

Yugao scoffed, "Thats ridiculous Genma, how would we make a weapon out of someone that could only use Genjutsu? And don't get me started on Ninjutsu, his coils are too small to channel the chakra necessary for anything above A-rank, he's worthless!"

Genma cast a disapproving look at her, " Your friend Kurenai is a Genjutsu mistress and she just made Jonin. Don't act like Genjutsu is worthless. And how many Ninjutsu do you know above A-rank? I know two, and I can only use one of them 3 times in a day before I die of exhaustion."

Yugao flushed, getting angry, and sharply replied, " Don't act like Kurenai is going to excel now, she's good but a Genjutsu master has never made it to kage level-"

Kakashi flared his chakra and the two went silent. "ENOUGH. You both have good points. But we have to think outside the box. What can we teach him to do that will allow him to become the weapon Lord Hokage wants him to be?"

Genma and Yugao frowned, thinking to themselves. Kakashi had an idea, but wanted them to try and get there themselves. Genma spoke up first, " Perhaps...elemental manipulation? His techniques wont have too be strong if he can use all five elements and can effectively counter each?"

Yugao guessed as well, "Maybe seals, he could become a seal master? They are effective, but the preparation needed normally makes them worthless in battle if they aren't made before hand."

Kakashi leaned back on the bed, looking at them both. "What will allow him to do all of that? Become a master of Nin, Tai, and Genjutsu? How can he effortlessly perform elemental manipulation, use seals to enhance his strength and perform Kenjutsu as well as masters of the blade?"

Yugao caught on first, gasping in shock. " How?! We don't have those techniques-"

Kakashi leveled his gaze on her. " We're ninja, we steal them."

Genma caught on next. "That's pretty damn risky Kakashi. You know if we are caught-"

Kakashi turned his gaze to Genma. "We wont be. We go in, take what we need, and we get out. We are the Hokage's Elite. We cannot afford to fail him. We need the general basics, we can capture a user of the technique later for more hands on instruction, but in order for Naruto to get to the full potential, we can't just take their secret techniques. We need their forbidden one's as well."

Yugao and Genma gasped again at this. It wasn't every day that one simply proposed to steal the secret techniques of another village, an ally of theirs no less, and to take the forbidden techniques...well, they were always forbidden for a reason. " Kakashi are you saying..." "That we have to steal..."

Kakashi placed his mask back on, and turned to leave the room.

"Yes. We are going to steal the secrets to the art of puppetry from the sand. As well as the secret of how to make human puppets. We leave tomorrow. There is no time to waste."

-0-

The Hokage stared out at the council chambers, at the men and women surrounding him. Each of them arguing over something that had already been decided. The Uchiha and Hyuuga wanted to adopt the boy, no doubt for the demon sealed within him. The civilians all called for his death, unaware that his death would simply cause the beast to reform in another five to ten years. The other clans either were neutral or wanted him to be sent to an orphanage, preferring no one have him, than to have one clan gain the strength to threaten the village. After half an hour and no progress, the Hokage cleared his throat and flared his chakra, causing all to focus on him.

"Honourable council members, while I value your input, I must say that the fate of the Jinchuuriki Naruto has been decided. He will not be adopted." The Uchiha and Hyuuga glared. " He will not be sent to an orphanage." The neutrals were intrigued. " And he shall not be put to death."

A civilian yelled out with hate, "Damn you, you old fool! He is a demon and deserves to die, if you will not kill him then I will-URK!" The man crumpled to the floor as the Hokage stared at his unmoving body, the kunai in his throat sticking straight into the air as he choked on his own blood. The only sign the Hokage moved was that his robes were rippling and he continued after signaling for his Anbu to get the body.

"As I was saying," Here he swept his gaze across the room, daring anyone to make a sound. "The boy will be given five years. He will become my tool, a sword of Konoha to be used against our enemies. He will prove his strength or..." Here he narrowed his eyes. " He will die, and we shall reseal the Kyuubi into a new host."

Danzo Shimura, a heavily bandaged man spoke up. " Lord Hokage," normally he would not show this much respect but he could see now was not the time to show his contempt. He had to tread carefully. "I would like to ask how you will ensure that the boy will remain loyal to the village?"

Here the Hokage chuckled. He turned shrewd eyes onto the man and Danzo felt a chill go down his back as his eye met the Hokage's. "Oh, but that won't be my job though Danzo. You will have the prime responsibility, should he prove himself by the age of five, to turn him into a loyal Konoha shinobi. Should you fail, by the age of ten, to show results that satisfy me, both you and the boy will die."

Danzo's eye widened and he began to sweat. This was not what he wanted. He never imagined that the Hokage would put him in such a position. He could not say no, it wasn't a request. And yet, if he should fail, he would die. He bowed his head, knowing he had no choice in the matter. " Of course Lord Hokage."

The Hokage smiled a cruel smile and turned, "Thank you Danzo. I look forward to seeing your results. This meeting is over, good night."

The gathered members left once the doors closed, knowing that somehow, someway, the old Hokage had changed, that he was not the same old man they had run circles around in years past. He was their leader and many went home deep in thought, trying to figure out how the man had changed so quickly into someone willing to kill a man over words spoken in anger.

-0-

Three blurs dashed through the desert, running at speeds that were too fast to track with the naked eye. They were running from the direction of the Village Hidden in the Sand. The three figures were covered in black cloaks and they had earpieces that allowed communication between the three.

Cat spoke up first, " Captain, these notes are amazing, I got a glance at some of Sasori's notes and they were revolutionary, they tell of how a good puppeteer has at least three puppets, his shield, his sword, and his shell. The sword should be something that is durable, powerful, and has the strength the puppeteer does not. The shield is supposed to be something with a nearly unbreakable defense, and should never stray far from the puppeteer. The shell is what the puppeteer uses as a way to disorient his opponents, it could be a puppet the same size and shape as the puppeteer, or it could be in the shape of say, a turtle or a scorpion, as Sasori uses. These secrets could revolutionize Konoha!"

Dog spoke up. " It doesn't matter, Naruto is the only person in Konoha that will be allowed access to these techniques. If the sand found out we had even one puppet user, they would be under constant assassination attempts, but luckily Naruto will be trained as a sword for the Hokage and so he will be fine. Should these techniques be taught to the kids in the academy, an entire generation would be killed to protect their secrets. Any idea's as for what we can use for Naruto's shield, sword, and shell?"

Weasel scoffed. "According to his notes, Sasori used the Kazekage as both his sword and shield, with a scorpion as his shell. Naruto wont have the chance to get a ninja of that caliber when he starts training, so we need someone a bit weaker, say Jonin or Chunnin."

Cat cut in, " Well we know what his shell will be, The Kyuubi of course." Weasel grunted and spoke up, " Hey you need to calm it down with that hate, he doesn't need to use the Kyuubi as a shell, but its not a bad plan." Cat spoke sharply, " I can hate him as much as I please as long as I get the job done, and the Kyuubi will be the best shell for him I just know it!"

Dog took this chance to speak up. " Perhaps if we can salvage an Uchiha...they could be his sword. And perhaps a Hyuuga would serve better as his shield."

Cat scoffed this time, "Right, and the Uchiha and Hyuuga clans are gonna be all for that, no offense captain, but that's ridiculous."

Weasel spoke up, " Hey, maybe we have him build regular puppets first, such as a basic defensive puppet and a basic offensive puppet, and we make the shell something he works on for a long time, using the Kyuubi as a basic diagram, let him choose what weapons and traps he wants too use."

Dog then made a suggestion, " How about a summon?" Cat nearly tripped. " Captain are you serious?! You want to give him that kind of power?" Dog grunted, " Look, Cat, get over it, he is too be the Hokages sword and shield, his ultimate weapon and ultimate defense, and if we are going to make him strong, we had better do it all the way or not at all." Cat mumbled to herself, " Yea, I say we kill him now..."

Weasel said, " Hey, so what kind of summon should we get? And are we certain he will be able to master these techniques?"

Dog was silent for a moment, the only sound being the wind as it blew across the sand around them. " Well, the summon would have to be something we thought about carefully, he only gets one shot so we can't mess this up. And as far as mastering the techniques go..." Dog went silent again, his mind flashing to memories of better times, of a blond sensei, of a group of kids, one with silver hair, one with black, and one with brown. His mind went to how he gained his eye, and how he was forced to kill his teammate. His mind went to the Kyuubi attack, of being banned from the front lines, to the morning after, when he was given the mission to make his sensei's son into a weapon or be forced to kill him, and start over. He hardened his heart, and spoke to his team.

"As far as mastering these techniques go, Naruto will do it, or he will literally die trying."

-0-

"Kakashi report on the boys progress."

Gathered in the Hokages office were Naruto's three Anbu teachers, Dog, Cat, and Weasel. Along with his teachers were the Hokage, Danzo Shimura, as well as the heads of the Uchiha and Hyuuga clans. Jiraiya of the Sannin stood silently in the corner. They were here to receive the yearly report on Naruto, now that the teachers had finally begun Naruto's shinobi training.

Dog removed his mask. " Of course Lord Hokage. He has come extremely far in a very short period of time. As we had said before, Naruto responded positively to the reading of stories, history and tactics of Konoha during his developmental stages. By his third month he was able to identify each of us by name, although he could not pronounce them correctly." At this Weasel shifted silently suppressing a snort at how he had quickly gained the nickname 'Beeble' as Naruto called him. "By the seventh month, Naruto was able to understand several concepts such as chakra. He was able to hold conversations about tactics and we began playing shogi with him. Naruto had progressed from walking to running before the year was out. The entire second year, we had Naruto focus only on unlocking his chakra, as well as puppetry techniques. We told him how to make one, how to design one, we had several tests to show how one design was better and more versatile than the others and Naruto was able to make several improvements to the puppets he had designed."

Fugaku Uchiha scoffed at this, and in a condescending tone asked, "And please tell me what improvements a _two year old child _could make to such advanced piece of work as a puppet?"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the man, before snapping back, " Not that its any of your concern Lord Uchiha, but Naruto was able to put kunai launchers in the hands of his puppets, placed several seals on his puppets that would allow him to store water which he uses with the lightning techniques we had him learn, and he created an explosion seal that minimizes the explosive power and directs the fire forward in a way that mimics the great fireball technique. It seems that puppetry isn't the only technique Naruto has managed to recreate."

Fugaku's eyes widened before his face twisted into a snarl and he stepped forward, "YOU DARE-"

"ENOUGH!" The Hokage glared at both men, before focusing back on Kakashi. "Continue Kakashi."

Kakashi faced the Hokage again, " I apologize Lord Hokage. Naruto now has two solid weapons, and we were able to teach him how to effectively use them in battle. However, he is still a three year old child, and because of his condition, has no way to move _and_ use his battle puppets at the same time. This causes his ability to fight to remain at mid to high genin level."

The Hokage closed his eyes and tilted his head forward. "I see. This is quite impressive Kakashi. How was Naruto able to learn these techniques, how is it possible that he could comprehend the ideas that you say you have taught him?"

Kakashi was about to answer when he was cut off by Jiraiya from the corner. His sudden voice caused the two clan heads to jump as they had forgotten him in his silence. "What my old teacher is asking is whether or not the boy has been corrupted by the Kyuubi in some way."

Yugao spoke up before Kakashi could. " I believe so, I always felt it was unnatural for a _child _to have the intelligence this boy has, I say he was corrupted the second the demon was sealed inside him, I might even go so far as to say that he was possessed-"

Genma cut across her quickly, " You would do well to remember that we havent felt a single bit of demon chakra Yugao, and more importantly you should remember not just who you cut off but whom you stand in front of this very moment."

Yugao went silent as she became aware of the Hokage's glare as well as the interest on the Hyuuga and Uchiha clan heads. Kakashi then spoke to the Hokage, " Yes, I believe the boy has the natural ability and is in no way corrupted by the demon. I daresay he will be Jonin level by the age of five at this rate. However, we do have a request."

At this the Hokage leaned back and nodded. "Ah yes, the reason for the two clan heads having been asked to be here."

At this the two clan heads turned a questioning gaze towards the Hokage.

"Yes, Naruto has great potential. But in order to become the sword I need him to be, he absolutely has to be the best. To be the best he needs to have the greatest skills this village can offer. This means-"

Hiashi Hyuuga stood and cut across the Hokage as he had caught onto what he believed to be his plan. "ABSOLUTELY NOT! I WONT-UGH"

Kakashi and Jiraiya had both grabbed the collar of his robe and bodily threw him into the far wall, before he was pinned by the blades of both Yugao and Genma. He did not show it but he was in pain and he was sweating inside as he was terrified of being killed for his words said in anger.

Danzo's eye widened as he looked on in shock at what the Hokage was allowing to go on in his office. Where was the weak old man? Where was the pacifist Hokage that he had grown up with, that was predictable?

The Hokage sent an almost bored glance at Hiashi before he spoke. " Yes, im sorry, I see I have made a mistake. I'm not asking you for anything, I wont request that you do anything for me, and i'm sorry if I gave either of you that impression." At this the Hokage pinned Fugaku with his intense gaze which caused him to stiffen in fear. "I'm telling you that not only will you hand over all the scrolls with your clans techniques, you will also train Naruto in the skills contained within them. And, should Naruto satisfy me at the age of five, he will receive a young powerful member of your clan to make into his human puppet."

Fugaku choked on his own words, fighting down the urge to attempt to intimidate the Hokage. He struggled to get his words out through grit teeth. " Lord Hokage, I don't understand. You want us to kill a member of our clan for this...this child to butcher?!"

The Hokage looked at him with amused eyes. " Of course not, I will simply send the member selected on a mission, one they will not return from. You will, of course, be paid handsomely for their sacrifice."

Hiashi struggled not to move, so he would not be cut as he spoke. " B-but Lord Hokage you can't seriously be asking us to-"

The Hokage cut him off with steel in his voice, " Your exactly right Hiashi, keep up with my words. You seemed to be following so well earlier. Im not asking, im telling, and it will be done. This meeting is a SS Ranked secret and no one is to know. Your all dismissed."

-0-

Hiruzen Sarutobi. The Professor. God of Shinobi. Sensei of the Legendary Sannin. Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village. Bastard who thinks he will train me to be a weapon.

Naruto opened his eyes as the door to the arena opened, and checked to make sure he was ready. He tested the movement of Kyuubi, his main mode of transportaion, the construct had become like an extension of himself at this point. The tails unfurled as the fox construct rose. He made sure Juggernaut and General Grievous were ready to go. He sent chakra to his wrists, enough to make sure both Shisui and Hizashi were still sealed, and ready to be summoned. His puppets were his tools, and he was their master. He flexed his fingers as Kyuubi dashed out into the battlefield.

This was his test. The day had come. He was five years old, and it was time to prove that he was not a waste, that he was capable of being strong. He would prove that he could be the greatest sword that Konoha would ever have.

And when the time comes, he will turn his sword onto Konoha, and destroy the men and women who dared to see him as a weapon, who dared to believe they could control him, command him like a dog, and bend him to their will.

And he will start with that old bastard, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

**Hey guys, its another story, I have been writing, its just I have a very small attention span so my other two haven't been updated yet. Don't worry, just give me some time, and thanks for the patience. Please let me know what you think, R and R!**


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